Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced FTX founder, is currently serving time at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center while waiting to be transferred to a federal prison for a 25-year sentence for wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy charges. Bankman-Fried has been surviving in jail by using bags of rice as a type of currency within the prison. He mentioned in his first jailhouse interview with Puck News that the arbitrage opportunities with rice were better than anything he experienced while trading crypto. The vegan former billionaire stated that his diet mainly consists of rice and beans as he found the vegan meals provided at the jail to be inedible.
Bankman-Fried has been sharing a room with 35 other men at the detention center with limited privacy and extreme boredom. Despite the presence of convicted murderers, he expressed that he doesn’t fear for his safety. He described the living conditions in the jail, including sleeping on a bunk bed and being constantly bugged at night about the bags of rice that he uses to barter. The TV sets in the common area are tuned to ESPN, Telemundo, BET, and a news channel, which Bankman-Fried finds uninteresting as he would prefer to watch movies or play video games during his time in confinement.
The FTX fraudster has been taking his prescription medication to maintain clarity as he prepares for his legal battle to appeal his conviction for using FTX user funds to address an $8 billion debt at sister company Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried has expressed a desire to pay back victims in full following the collapse of his firm, FTX. Recent reports indicate that FTX has accumulated more than enough funds to fully reimburse customers who lost money during the collapse, as well as cover interest payments. Once all assets are sold, the crypto exchange will have around $16.3 billion in cash to distribute to creditors, including over 2 million customers and other non-governmental creditors who are owed a total of $11 billion.
In the jail interview, Bankman-Fried revealed that he trades his bags of rice for other items, although he did not provide specific details on what he acquires in exchange for rice. Despite the challenging circumstances in prison, he seems to be coping with his situation and maintaining a level of normalcy by engaging in activities like playing video games while following the legal developments around his case. The former billionaire’s experience with using rice as a form of currency sheds light on the creative ways individuals adapt to the constraints of a confined environment, finding ways to navigate and survive under challenging circumstances. His story serves as a reminder of the resilience and resourcefulness of individuals facing adversity.
